Mayor Tory and his business mission will visit Netflix and other newer movie makers in Los Angeles next week. The mayor said today the group will be trying to attract business from some companies that have not done a great deal of business with Toronto in the past. “So we are going to tell them about it, we are going to encourage them to come to Toronto.”

The CBC says there is an oily substance leaking into the Don River from a unknown source in what is known as a brownfield near Bayview Ave. and Gerrard St. A brownfield is land previously used for industrial purposes which is presumed to be contaminated. No address or ownership is given in the CBC story. It says that the City received notice of this leakage two weeks ago  It appears, according to the report, as if fuel-like sheen is on the waterway. It says booms have been placed to attempt to contain the leak and absorbent material is being used.

In notes for a speech given today in India, the former Prime Minister is says that Donald Trump’s presidency is a major source of international uncertainty that will “reverse” seven decades of U.S. foreign policy.  “Under Trump, the United States will cease to view the rise of China as benign,” Harper said. “It is more profoundly concerned that the massive trade imbalance means America is financing the rise of a geopolitical adversary.” That view is more in step with U.S. public opinion “which has always been skeptical of the foreign policy and corporate consensus that China is more an opportunity than a threat,” he added. The new president will be inaugurated tomorrow in Washington amid pomp, protest and security. Full story by Canadian Press

Eataly, Dubai

Oscar Farinetti

Eataly, New York

Depiction of Bloor Street Eataly

The diverse snacking and dining phenomenon Eataly will open in the Manulife Centre on Bloor Street in 2019. Eataly is the invention of Italian businessman Oscar Farinetti who ten years ago converted a closed vermouth factory in Turin into the first location. His move to New York City introduced millions of North Americans (many from Toronto) to the imaginative sit down, stand up, grab-a-bun-and-walk-around eating experience. There are multiple over-the-counter and table-service spots. His complex in an old office building near Madison Square Park is always mobbed. Now the first Eataly will open under the Varsity movie theatres in the Manulife. It is a partnership of Eataly with the Selfridges Group and Terroni Restaurants. A depiction of the street view of the planned Bloor Street Eataly seems dazzling and promises more glory for the street.

A man has been injured in an industrial accident on the north side of Eglinton Ave. W. at the corner of Chaplin Crescent.  Police say the man was driving a Bobcat utility vehicle at a work site near Eglinton Avenue and Gilgorm Road when he struck a steel beam at around 9:10 a.m. He was hit in the  chest and will be okay.

A high-rise building in Tehran engulfed by a fire collapsed on Thursday, killing at least 30 firefighters and injuring some 75 people, state media reported. According to Euronews, the government then withdrew this information. It is not clear what has happened except that the tower, which anchored a shopping plaza, was struck by fire and after several hours of firefighting, it fell. The disaster struck the Plasco building, a landmark structure in central Tehran just north of the capital’s sprawling bazaar. Firefighters, soldiers and other emergency responders dug through the rubble, looking for survivors.

AVALANCHE HIT HOTEL

And an avalanche has struck a ski hotel in the Abruzzo district of Italy, killing at least one person.

FOUND DOG:
Broadview/Gerrard 4:30 am today. If you know the owners please contact @TPS55Div at 416-808-5500. ^lb pic.twitter.com/ruoITxg1Bh

— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) January 19, 2017

Banano is enjoying the hospitality of 55 Divison police as they trace his owner through a tag around his neck. The animal was picked up Thursday overnight wandering near Broadview and Gerrard. At first, officers thought he was a coyote. They think they should able to re-unite him with owner soon.

The Annual East York Kiwanis Robbie Burns Dinner is Saturday, January 21, 2017. Click the poster. And Saturday morning Mike Krushelnyski will be at the Leaside arena signing autographs at a commercial event. Tonight the William Lea Room will see the reception to honour the late Dr.Tom Pashby and celebrate the generous gift of $500,000 to the arena for safety improvement. Henceforth, the newly-built rink will be known as the Dr. Tom Pashby Play Safely Rink. Nice.

South Bayview to remain with pickup by City employees

As expected, the public works committee has voted Wednesday in favour of a plan to privatize garbage collection in Scarborough (known as collection district 4). City Council will consider the matter in a meeting that begins January 31, 2017. The proposal is different from the decision taken by the administration of the late Mayor Ford in 2012 to arbitrarily change service from City-operated collection (CUPE) to the private Green For Life pickup. The City will conduct a so-called “managed competition procurement process”  This allows both private and unionized (CUPE) to bid.

SOUTH BAYVIEW

This leaves the section of Toronto east of Yonge Street known to many as Midtown (and including South Bayview) still served by municipal employees represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees. “It is time to do a proper market sounding and get actual costs from the market and not back-of-napkin analysis,” Public Works Chair Jaye Robinson (Ward 25) told reporters. “No one should be afraid of getting real numbers and making decisions based on facts.”

They play hockey and eat

Fuelled by hot dogs

Fuel for young hockey players at Leaside Memorial Community Arena at the Leaside Select Tournament will be provided by Andy Elder’s Grilltime kitchen as hundreds of kids, moms, dads, siblings and other relatives swarm into Leaside February 3 to 5. The menu will feature proven walk-away favourites. It has glazed back bacon sandwiches, smoked brisket end chili, jumbo all-beef hot dogs and pulled chicken quesadillas. These goodies will be served on COBs buns. Andy expects to serve up as many as 1,200 meals from his station at the arena on the three-day weekend (Friday, Saturday, Sunday).

CBC

Leaside Junior Wildcats fought hard but lost 3-2 to the Mississauga Chiefs Wednesday night at Leaside arena. The Chiefs netminder, Cassie Reale, may take credit for this win. She faced 32 shots and stopped 30. Of the two that got by her, one came during a furious six-on-five attack in the final seconds of the game. Leaside had five power plays but could not score on Reale during any. That included a frantic 60 seconds or so in the third when Leaside had a 5-3 player advantage over the Chiefs. Kate Mowbray for Leaside faced 29 shots and stopped 26. Scoring here.